Professional Golf Tours - Women's Tours

Women's Tours

Women's professional golf is also organised by independent regional tours. Leading female golfers make incomes well over USD$1 million per year, more than most other women athletes other than top tennis players. There are currently six first tier regional tours:

• LPGA Tour (based in the United States)
• Ladies European Tour
• LPGA of Japan Tour
• LPGA of Korea Tour
• Ladies Asian Golf Tour, for Asia outside of Japan and Korea
• ALPG Tour, based in Australia

The LPGA Tour is the dominant tour, and is the main playing base of almost all the world's leading players. The LPGA of Japan Tour is the second richest tour, and retains many of its leading players. The best players from the other tours usually move to the LPGA Tour at the earliest opportunity.

The second tier women's professional tour in the United States is the Symetra Tour. Although there is little opportunity for women's developmental play on the professional level in the United States besides the Symetra Tour, women are welcome to compete against men on some mini-tours. Sweden, which is the European country where women's golf is most popular, has its own SAS Masters Tour (formerly the Telia Tour), which serves as a feeder tour for the Ladies European Tour. The LPGA of Japan operates the Step Up Tour as a feeder for its main tour, and the LPGA of Korea operates two mini-tours that effectively serve as feeders for its main tour.

In 2001 the U.S. based Women's Senior Golf Tour was founded, featuring golfers 45 and over. In 2006 it was rebranded as the Legends Tour. The LPGA of Korea now operates the Akia Tour, a four-event mini-tour for the same age group. The Moonlightgolf.com Tour in central Florida since 1992, offers women the opportunity to develop through frequent low cost pro/scratch events.